Like Bush before her, Hillary Clinton is turning her back on the Constitution
If this doesn’t turn your stomach, I don’t know what will. Hillary Clinton is finally showing us the “dark roots” beneath her blond hair. She so far has refused to commit to Renew the Constitution. The following is from The Nation.
.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama has finally signed the American Freedom Pledge, joining his fellow Democratic presidential candidates in encouraging the restoration of basic Constitutional principles after the battering they have taken during the Bush-Cheney era.
.
All the Democrats, that is, except New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
.
The effort to get presidential contenders to sign on the American Freedom Pledge has been promoted by organizations ranging from the Center for Constitutional Rights to Human Rights Watch, MoveOn.org , Amnesty International USA, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and True Majority.
.
The pledge is anything but radical. It simply asks candidates to affirm a statement that reads: “We are Americans, and in our America we do not torture, we do not imprison people without charge or legal remedy, we do not tap people’s phones and emails without a court order, and above all we do not give any President unchecked power. I pledge to fight to protect and defend the Constitution from attack by any President.”
.
The often embarrassingly cautious Obama campaign had been slow to sign on to the pledge. Earlier this week the American Freedom Campaign, which is promoting the pledge, revealed that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Alaska Senator Mike Gravel had signed the pledge, while former North Carolina Senator John Edwards and Delaware Senator Joe Biden had responded with supportive statements. After a release from the freedom campaign noted that Obama and Clinton had not committed to the Constitution, Obama’s aides moved quickly.
.
Recognizing the value of distinguishing their candidate from Clinton, the front runner in most polls, they got Obama to sign the pledge.
.
The freedom campaign is promising to turn the heat up on Clinton and Republicans presidential contenders — aside from Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who signed on to a similar American Freedom Agenda statement promoted by conservative defenders of the Constitution.
.
“We are very pleased that Senator Obama has joined so many of his colleagues in signing the American Freedom Pledge,” says freedom campaign co-founder Naomi Wolf. “But we will not be satisfied until we receive a solid commitment from each and every one of the presidential candidates. This is not just another request from an interest group; this is a test of whether our next president will be true to the vision of our Founders. Any candidate who does not express strong support for defending the Constitution does not deserve to be president.”
.
If this doesn’t change the minds of some of Hillary’s supporters, then one has to wonder where their loyalties are – with Hillary Clinton or with the basic tenets on which this nation was founded. Come on Hillary, I don’t want to hate you – join with the others and pledge to restore our Constitution.
Loading...
7 Responses to “Like Bush before her, Hillary Clinton is turning her back on the Constitution”
oh. my. god.
I had been a Clinton supporter for a while. then I had second thoughts and backed
away. then rethunk and went back to her camp. But THIS tears it! If she won’t
even pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States — I
won’t pledge to support her. End of discussion.
Thanks for this info, Robert.
I saw her on Geo Stephanopolous this AM. Why didn’t he land on her with both feet
about this?
I am sorry, but this is a red herring. Not to be cynical, here. But what does it matter, if it was signed simply because the word got out that you didn’t sign it? It sounds like Obama’s folks had him sign it because others had already signed it. So are we now down to who can take pledges and sign them first?
So, now if Hillary’s camp urges her to sign it, wouldn’t she being doing the same thing? Didn’t we do away with loyalty oaths? How about not saying the Pledge of Allegiance? If we don’t do these things, are we un-American?
Besides, Souder signed a pledge back in 1994 didn’t he? And look what happened.
I wouldn’t have cared if anyone had signed it – actions speak louder than words – or in this case a signed pledge.
You know. . .my mind was already made up months ago on this one. I pined for Feingold, I longed for Gore, I yearned for Kucinich. . .but I knew deep down that they weren’t going to make it to the top. I even looked at Clinton for awhile, with the “pipe dream” of how it would be nice to have Bill back at 1600.
As I told Robert at the time, I’m god damned over ready for a real progressive candidate – I’m sick of all of this centrist playing-to-the-middle shit. Obama IS that candidate. He doesn’t PLAY to the middle, but he APPEALS to the middle. As for “loyalty oaths”, I’m damned fine with anyone who wants to take one as long as it’s to America, rather than party or person. I’ll take my chances with Barack – he’s close enough to perfect for me. . .
Charlotte, even if Clinton doesn’t sign the pledge, couldn’t she at least come forward and tell the American people that she will work to bring our Constitution back to where it is supposed to be? Couldn’t she promise the American people that her administration will not torture? If she believes the Bush agenda is wrong on torture, eavesdropping, etc., shouldn’t she say so? And if not, she needs to be called out on it.
Robert and John:
I guess I get a little nervous and yes, suspicious, when people start saying “sign this pledge” or “sign this oath.” I watched a weird movie over the weekend called “Land of the Blind” with Donald Sutherland. One of the issues was that the guard refused to sign a loyalty oath to the new government and for that he paid dearly.
Why are these things necessary? Like I said, Souder signed his pledge and has not honored it, so the pledge really meant nothing. And I will add, which will probably shock some and not others, that I don’t like saying the Pledge of Allegiance. My allegiance is to all human beings in this world, not to an inanimate object. Does that make me un-American and un-patriotic? I am sure many who read this comment will think so. I do not think so.
Robert, am I incorrect in understanding from your original post that Obama only signed the pledge after his people wanted him to distinguish himself from Clinton? If that was the reason, then what is the point?
Yes Clinton could and should say she sees the Bush’s tactics as wrong. I would rather have a candidate say they will make all efforts to enforce the Constitution and then follow through than to have them sign pledges for the sake of signing pledges. I just see this effort as moving close to pinning your patriotism, not on your actions, but on what you are willing to be chided into signing.
John, I am sorry to disagree with you on this, but there is no perfect candidate, and there isn’t even one close to perfect. The truly progressive candidate, Edwards, is no longer in the race, and I don’t see Obama or Clinton as a progressive candidate.
This was a good move by Obama. Now, if only he would admit that he has been wrong on health care and change his plan to cover the 22 million of us that his plan leaves without care.
Funny. No offense. I prefer Obama over hilary but ew/ hillary itd be nice to see a woman up there. they say women think diff than men…………should we be afraid?
CSUS student.
Leave a Reply